Precise alignment between an optical component and an electrical component is critical in the manufacture of various devices, such as, transceivers or other devices. For example, a typical transceiver comprises an electrical subassembly that is aligned with an optical subassembly. The electrical subassembly generally comprises photonic device(s) (e.g., laser, detector, photodiode, etc.) for transmitting optical signals to and receiving optical signals from the optical subassembly. The optical subassembly generally comprises an optical lens for coupling the light signals between the photonic devices and an optical fiber that may be connected to the transceiver.
There are two general manufacturing methods for aligning the electrical subassembly and the optical subassembly: active alignment and passive alignment. In active alignment, for example, a laser on an electrical subassembly is in an active state and the optical elements (e.g., photodetector, lens assembly, optical fiber, etc.) are moved, typically, in a lateral plane (i.e., orthogonal to the optical path) when photoreceiver current is monitored to establish maximal optical coupling. After the alignment is optimized and the optical coupling target is reached, individual components are fixed mechanically to maintain the alignment. This procedure allows for the precise alignment of the optical elements. However, it requires expensive dedicated equipment and sophisticated algorithm/software to implement. In addition, the time to carry out one active alignment is longer when compared with passive alignment. By contrast, the passive alignment procedure is a multi-step alignment process that is performed without turning on any photonic devices such as lasers and photodetectors. In each step, a component is picked, placed and mechanically fixed to its designed position with allowed tolerance. The overall alignment is then determined by the individual component placement accuracy. Passive alignment provides several advantages over active alignment methods, including improved yield and reduced cost, although it does not provide as much accuracy as active alignment methods.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for improved manufacturing solutions for providing passive alignment of optical components.